The last battle : soldier settlement in Australia, 1916-1939 / Bruce Scates and Melanie Oppenheimer ; with research assistance by Will Frances [and others].

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Scates, Bruce, author.

Oppenheimer, Melanie, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Agricultural colonies--Australia--History--20th century.

Agricultural colonies.

Veterans--Australia--History--20th century.

Veterans.

Australia--History--20th century.

Australia.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 298 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Melbourne : Cambridge University Press, 2016.

Summary:

When Australian soldiers returned from the First World War they were offered the chance to settle on 'land fit for heroes'. Promotional material painted a picture of prosperous farms and contented families, appealing to returned servicepeople and their families hoping for a fresh start. Yet just 20 years after the inception of these soldier settlement schemes, fewer than half of the settlers remained on their properties. In this timely book, based on recently uncovered archives, Bruce Scates and Melanie Oppenheimer map out a deeply personal history of the soldiers' struggle to transition from Anzac to farmer and provider. At its foundation lie thousands of individual life stories shaped by imperfect repatriation policies. The Last Battle examines the environmental challenges, the difficulties presented by the physical and psychological damage many soldiers had sustained during the war, and the vital roles of women and children.

Contents:

Cover; Half title; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Foreword; Contents; Note to readers; Images; Acknowledgements; Introduction 'A Land Fit for Heroes': Implementing soldier settlement in Australia; Part 1: Managing the Men; 1 'When the Inspector Calls': The yeoman quest; 2 'Men on the Margins': Suspect soldiers ; 3 'I Intend to Get Justice': Moral economy ; Part 2: Battling the Land; 4 'Droughts and Flooding Rains': Markets and the seasons ; 5 'A Land only Fit for Rabbits': Environmental degradation; Part 3: Damaged Men; 6 'War Wrecked': Sending cripples to the country

7 'From the Farm to the Asylum': Mad and 'nervy' menPart 4: Getting On; 8 'Taking on a Holding': Women and families on the land; 9 'Settling Down': Successful soldier settlers ; Notes; Select bibliography; Index; Plates

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 06 Sep 2016).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-316-87004-9

1-316-87009-X

1-316-87014-6

1-316-87034-0

1-316-40876-0

1-316-87019-7